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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29079894">The Clarity Suite</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/PKirby/pseuds/PKirby'>PKirby</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Super Mario &amp; Related Fandoms, Super Mario Bros. (Video Games)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Based on a dream I had, Currently Under Reconstruction, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family Bonding, Family Issues, I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Not Bad At Titles, I'm bad at writing, Iggy REALLY fucks up, Iggy fucks up, Imaginary Friends, Imaginary Friends From The Past, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Mental Institution but it's inside his mind, Mentions Of Ludwig's Past, Secret Relationship, ludwig may not get off mr. bones' wild ride, shitty attempts at angst, that was a lie, the world is cruel to ludwig, these tags are story-worthy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 10:40:53</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>11,332</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29079894</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/PKirby/pseuds/PKirby</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Bubbling, boiling, seething anger.  Stemming from a place within Ludwig unknown to him.  It leaves him wondering "Why?", but the answer should be obvious, right?  But it's not.  He'll have to dig a whole lot deeper within himself to find the truth, through past experiences he'd buried and secrets he'd hidden.  And at the end of it all, there's only one thing awaiting him: clarity.</p><p>*****</p><p>"Welcome to the Clarity Suite, Ludwig von Koopa.  You are guest #4.  Enjoy your stay."</p><p>"Hi, Ludwig!  Remember me?  We're going to have so much fun!  WHAUGHUHUHU HUH HUH WHAUUUUGHUH!"</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ludwig von Koopa/OC</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Empty</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Ludwig, I want you to come down to the dinner table for dinner,” Bowser said, having opened the door to his room.  Ludwig had been in the middle of eating tonight’s meal at his work desk.  Papers, pens, and books had been messily pushed away from the area in front of his chair to make room for the paper plate that held his food.  “You’ve been up here since you got home.  I think it’s time you be around your siblings and I and get out of your room for once.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ludwig found the idea less than savory.  A few days ago, he had blown up at Larry, Lemmy, and Iggy for snooping around his room while he was away.  Despite the fact that he was the victim since his privacy had been violated, the entire thing left him feeling as if </span>
  <em>
    <span>he</span>
  </em>
  <span> were the villain in that scenario.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So ever since that day, he’d been avoiding them.  The three of them were definitely at the dining table.  He was sure that his superfluous overreaction had left them hurting, and he didn’t want to deal with their histrionics should he have a run-in with them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He turned around in his chair, around ninety degrees to the left, and faced his father with a sigh.  “Must I really?  I’ve almost finished eating, anyhow.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>An obvious lie that Bowser quickly caught on to with a glance at his plate.  He cocked an eyebrow and crossed his arms, leaning on the doorframe.  “You’re done?  Despite the fact that you haven’t touched your steak?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not hungry,” he responded, pushing his plate away from him to emphasize his compulsive deflection.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ve eaten all your rice, but you always eat that last.  For stars’ sake, Ludwig, if you’re going to lie, make it believable.”  Bowser muttered something under his breath and massaged his temples with an index finger and a thumb.  “Even if you </span>
  <em>
    <span>are</span>
  </em>
  <span> done, I still want you to come and sit at the table with us.  We’re a family.  We’re supposed to spend time with each other.  We’re supposed to talk to each other.  We’re supposed to—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Respect each other’s passions, but if mine are sacrificed for everybody else’s, then that’s fine!” Ludwig cut in, his tone and smile sarcastic.  He dropped his sneer and sighed.  “I apologize for that outburst, but I have been paying for my piano lessons and music theory classes since the dawn of time, and I have been working my posterior off to show for it; meanwhile, Larry lazes around all day and he gets his own private tennis coach to ogle while ignoring every word that comes out of her mouth.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ludwig—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I go out of my way to advertise my </span>
  <em>
    <span>free</span>
  </em>
  <span> recitals to everyone, expecting at least </span>
  <em>
    <span>one</span>
  </em>
  <span> member of my family to show, but everyone’s too busy ‘getting low’ and ‘doing the wop’ to Roy’s shitty bedroom tracks, which they have to pay to listen to!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Ludwig—</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I take up gymnastics, and Lemmy follows behind, and despite the fact that </span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> set the precedent, </span>
  <em>
    <span>he</span>
  </em>
  <span> gets all the praise and glory for falling short of it all the time!  That is so much bullshit, and I rescind my apology because that is far from fair to me!  </span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> am the only child in this family who remembers that he has a name to uphold!  </span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> am the only child who works his tail off, who wants more than what’s par for the course!  So you can excuse me if I don’t want to interact with my family and be constantly reminded of the deficit I’m at compared to the others!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he finally got to take in a proper breath, Ludwig realized that he was shaking and crying and glaring at his father.  The vile venom he’d just spewed left him quite confused, as he had no idea of where it had come from.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It also left Bowser looking equally shocked, hurt, and angry.  Once again, Ludwig had found himself bumbling to create some sort of apology for his behavior.  “S-sorry—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Don’t,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” responded Bowser immediately, holding up an index finger as he leered back at his son.  “You can stay up here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“King Dad—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“In fact, you can take as much time away from us as you need to cool off.  I won’t even send you off to the dungeon.  When you feel like talking to your family again, you know where to find us.”  With that, Bowser exited the doorway and closed the door behind him, not to the point of slamming it but with enough force to cause one of the framed pictures on the top shelf of the desk’s miniature bookshelf to fall, cracking the glass on the corner of the desk on the way down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ludwig let out a moody exhale as he glanced down at the mess, recognizing the photo amidst it as the family portrait they’d done two Christmases ago.  He rolled his eyes with another teenage sigh.  “How cliché can you get?” he shakily said as he got up from his chair, careful to avoid the shards of glass as he approached his bed and flopped on it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then came the tears, hot and fresh like liquid loaves from a bakery.  He buried his face in his pillow and let one broken sob out.  Then another.  And another.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And before he knew it, he was crying, full-on bawling like Junior often did.  His body shook as he wailed again and again, unable to stop himself as he just let out the vitriol and sadness inside of him.  A good cry every once in a while did wonders for the soul.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>...Yet twenty minutes later, after having quieted down, Ludwig didn’t feel any better.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He only felt worse.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>*****</b>
</p><p>
  <span>Lemmy took in a deep breath.  He had just knocked on Ludwig’s door.  Most people wouldn’t confront the same person who’d blown up at them and then punished themselves by completely avoiding them, and consequently everyone else.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lemmy obviously was not “most people”.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He just needed his older brother to leave his room, if only for a few moments.  Then Larry could sneak in, do his sneaky thing, and leave without a trace.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had to do this for Ludwig.  The blue-haired Koopaling was obviously hurting from something.  He’d gone poking around in his room for a reason.  He needed evidence that would back his claim, definitive proof that he could confront Ludwig with.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As he knocked on his older brother’s door again, he couldn’t help but wonder if his absence from the dinner table had something to do with the sleuthing Iggy, Larry, and Lemmy had done on Tuesday.  He must have been worried that they had unearthed a skeleton in his closet, figuratively or literally, and was now actively avoiding them to delay a confrontation about said skeleton, which didn’t even exist in the first place.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At least, not to Lemmy’s knowledge, though he wouldn’t be surprised if it turned out that there </span>
  <em>
    <span>were</span>
  </em>
  <span> secrets to his older brother he had yet to find out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Either way, it didn’t matter.  He was going to help Ludwig, no matter what it took.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Even if that meant pissing him off by knocking on his door for a third time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lemmy heard Ludwig get up from his bed and stomp towards the door, stopping a few paces short and yelling in pain.  Presumably, he was hopping on one foot and holding the other, because that’s what the cursing and uneven thumping rhythm coming from within the room told him.  Finally, he arrived at the door, swinging it open towards him.  “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Who dare disturb me—</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He cut his sentence short as he looked down at Lemmy’s face.  “Hi,” the small Koopaling sheepishly greeted him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The glare he’d been wearing moments before slid off of his face, and he cautiously stepped back to close the door.  “I-I’m sorry, Lemmy, I-I didn’t mean to—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, no, it’s fine!  What’s wrong with your foot?” he asked, stepping forwards into the doorway.  There was no way that Ludwig would close the door now, what with him being directly in its path.  “You’re standing funny on it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nothing, nothing at all!  I just stepped on some glass accidentally.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lemmy took that narrative and ran with it.  “Oh my stars!  We should go see Kamek!  He’ll patch you up in a jiffy, and then you won’t have to hobble around anymore!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am a mature sixteen-year-old, Lemmy.  I can take care of my own injuries—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“C’mon, Luddy!  He’s not that far from here!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The bathroom we share is closer to us than Kamek’s room is.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then let’s go to the bathroom to patch you up!  C’mon!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lemmy wanted to scream out of frustration.  Ludwig kept withdrawing from the conversation like a Koopa or something.  Well, a Dragon-Koopa, to be more specific.  Either way, getting him out of his room was proving to be a difficult task.  He kept at it, though, exercising a level of patience on par with Morton’s.  He supposed that there was only one thing that could draw him out.  “Please, Luddy!  You’ve been avoiding me, and I haven’t exactly found a chance to talk and apologize to you for what I did on Tuesday…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He seemed shocked at the mention of an apology.  “‘A-apologize’?  No, no, Lemmy, you don’t have to apologize.  I shouldn’t have blown up at you like I did.  I was the mature person in that situation, but I did not act accordingly.  It’s fine, really.  I’m fine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lemmy was at a loss for what to do.  Not even apologizing had worked!  Ludwig was either sniffing out each and every lie thrown his way, or just wanted out of this interaction </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> badly.  He couldn’t blame him for it, either.  This had to be equally awkward for both parties.  Nonetheless, the small Koopaling continued to drag the conversation on, saying, “Well, even if it </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> fine, you still need to get that wound dressed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“‘Tis but a scratch!  I’ll be alright!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Remember all the times Roy got ‘just a scratch’ and refused to clean it out?”  The both of them shuddered at the many memories of the burly Koopaling’s wounds being infected.  Nasty business, indeed.  “I don’t think either of us want your cut to get infected.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was nasty enough to successfully prompt Ludwig to relent and let Lemmy lead him to some place to take care of the cut on his foot.  “That is true.  I suppose you’ve made your point.  Lead the way.”</span>
</p><p>
  <b>*****</b>
</p><p>
  <span>As he arrived back at his room, his cut now sanitized and his foot wrapped in gauze and crutches underarm(Kamek went overboard in attending to him), he couldn’t help but realize that someone had been in his room again.  Whether or not the perpetrator had collaborated with Lemmy for a successful heist remained unknown.  But that wasn’t important at the moment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Someone had gone through his stuff again.  Whoever had done it had been quite meticulous in making sure that everything was in the same spot he’d left it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I knew I should have stayed in my room.”  He closed the door behind him as he entered, careful not to injure himself on the glass once more.  Someone had been here, looking for something.  But what exactly their target was, Ludwig couldn’t say.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Perhaps it was the small stash of magazines he kept hidden under his bed, all sorts of wildcards that had been confiscated from kids at school by the student council president(he never followed through on his promise to destroy them in one of the many lava pools near the castle).  Maybe the small case of makeup he’d cleared out one of the nightstand’s drawers for(he hated how closed-mind his family was considering the use of makeup by males).  It could have even been the bracelet his close friend had made for him, pink and purple and blue(which now stayed in a small locked box amongst other small pride-related objects).</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But as he checked the aforementioned spots for their respective treasures, he found them all seemingly untouched.  Strange.  The perpetrator hadn’t even left anything behind that could help him easily identify whodunnit.  He found it infuriating, but there wasn’t much he could do.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Muttering angrily to himself, he maneuvered around his room, turning off all the lights in his room except for the bedside lamp, which he shut off after nestling himself under the covers of his bed.  Before he fell asleep, he stared into the darkness for a little while, reflecting on the evening and mentally preparing himself for tomorrow, which was rapidly approaching.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Little did he know that the next day wouldn’t come as soon as he thought it would.  And by the time tomorrow did roll around, he’d be a completely different person.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Full</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Iggy discarded his glasses for a few moments to rub at his eyes, casting a glance at the clock as he returned his specs to his face.  12:30 AM.  It had been, what, three and a half hours since everyone else had gone to sleep?  Was everyone even asleep at this point?  He wasn’t entirely sure, but he didn’t care enough to give it more thought.  He had more pressing matters to deal with.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The screen in front of him was bright enough to the point where it felt like it was burning his eyes, despite being on the lowest brightness setting allowed by the computer.  He wasn’t about to turn it off, though.  For this whole grandmaster plan of his to work, he’d have to persevere through the night.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>While Lemmy had thought that he was just serving as a distraction for Larry to make another sweep in their eldest brother’s room, Iggy and Larry knew of a secretive truth that they’d sworn to keep between each other.  The athletic Koopaling had stashed himself away in Ludwig’s closet, staying absolutely still and silent until his eldest brother fell asleep.  At that point he’d supposedly slipped a special sleep mask onto him and gotten the hell out of dodge.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The aforementioned mask was actually a device that Iggy had finalized just recently.  With the help of some beta-testers(who received the finalized product for free), he’d created the Dreamy Bon-Voyage(he was still working on the name), the first device with the ability to build a simulation within someone’s dreamy headspace.  The simulation would have to be a coded-in scenario that would be uploaded to the device from a computer or something of the like; however, once manifesting itself in the dream, it could grow and mold itself based on its surroundings.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“All in all, a lovely parasite for the mind to behold,” he muttered to himself, forgetting that someone else was in the room with him until he heard them groan.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His head snapped in Lemmy’s direction as the small Koopaling yawned and asked him, “Who’re you talking to, Iggs?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just me,” he responded, heartbeat increasing a little from nervousness.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, really.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mmm.”  Lemmy rolled over in his bed, wrapping the covers around himself even more as he said, “Tell ‘just me’ goodnight for me, m’kay…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iggy didn’t get a chance to reply before his brother fell back asleep, lightly snoring.  His plan’s life expectancy rate had gone back up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He refocused on his laptop, which grew comfortably warm in his lap, and maneuvered his cursor around the screen until it was hovering over the button labeled ‘RUN’ in the DBV’s custom-built app.  He’d already created a program, which Ludwig would join.  “Initiating </span>
  <em>
    <span>Clarity_Suite_v5_0_4.exe</span>
  </em>
  <span> for unit #4 in five...four...three...two...one…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He hit ‘RUN’.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His brother turned again in his sleep, murmuring the words “Blast off!” aloud.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iggy wished that he could join him in whatever space-themed dream he was having, but he couldn’t.  He had to see this through to its end, and that unfortunately meant sacrificing his own dreams.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sighing, he set the laptop down and stopped just short of closing it, sliding it underneath his bed.  Afterwards, his hands felt around underneath his pillow for his own DBV, grabbing it once they found it.  He sighed again.  So far, the program he’d created had been successful.  It could handle its three participants just fine.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He could only hope that it wouldn’t break once the fourth joined.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iggy took one last look at sleeping Lemmy’s peaceful form, gently rising and falling.  Then he discarded his glasses, setting them on the nightstand next to his bed, and put on the mask in its place.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>*****</b>
</p><p>
  <span>Ludwig’s eyes snapped open.  He shifted around in his bed in a fruitless attempt to recapture his comfort and fall back asleep.  Even if he’d succeeded at that, someone was knocking at his door.  “Damn it…” he muttered, pushing the bedcovers off of him.  He could only assume that it was still nighttime, which meant that whoever was at his door pounding on it may be in for the tongue-lashing of the century.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He reached for his bedside lamp, switching it on...or at least, it was supposed to be on.  He groaned aloud.  “Great.”  Another set of knocks on his door rang out.  “I’ll be with you in a moment!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He slowly slid out of bed and felt around for the ground before cautiously standing himself up, awkwardly balancing his weight between his good foot and injured foot.  Looking around his room, he realized that it was glowing, oddly enough—glowing just bright enough for everything in his room to have a visible outline.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He hobbled over towards his door, the person behind it knocking on it again, and he threw it open, expecting one of his siblings to be the cause of the disturbance.  But instead...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was a Hammer Bro.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That just made Ludwig angrier, but he did his best to keep his composure.  “Why are you here, waking me up?  I thought you were supposed to be on patrol.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>For a few moments, the Hammer Bro didn’t respond.  He stared at him, searching his face with his teal eyes.  Then he spoke in an eerily monotonous tone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Welcome to the Clarity Suite, Ludwig von Koopa.  You are guest #4.  Enjoy your stay.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“‘The Clarity Suite’?”  His anger giving way to confusion, he asked, “What do you mean?  I’m currently at home, in Bowser’s Castle.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Correct.  You are asleep.  The you within your mindscape has been transported to the Clarity Suite, however.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...This feels too direct for a dream.”  Ludwig sighed in slight frustration, shaking his head in hopes of clearing it.  “Can you tell me what this ‘Clarity Suite’ is?  To me, it just seems like I’m in my room.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Hammer Bro robotically extended a hand.  “We can do better than just tell.  Follow us and you will find the answer you seek.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why should I do that?  How do I know that I’m not awake, and that this isn’t some sort of elaborate trap?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“‘Trap’?  ‘Not awake’?  Mmm…”  He seemed to be trying to come up with a way to dissuade Ludwig from that line of thinking, which just made this whole ordeal even more suspicious in his eyes.  Finally, he casually put his hands behind his head and responded, “This is not a trap, and you are not awake.  To prove this, we present your glowing room as evidence.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And?  My room can glow under the right circumstances.”  A complete and utter lie, solely for the purpose of bluffing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We also present your gown as evidence as well.  We doubt that you wear gowns to bed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course not,” Ludwig responded, looking down at himself.  “What kind of…”  He promptly realized just what the Hammer Bro was getting at.  “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Why am I in a gown and where are my pants?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“As we said earlier, you are asleep.  The you within your mindscape has been transported to the Clarity Suite.  The gown you wear as of now is what the Clarity Suite deems fit for you to wear: clothing that covers you a very good amount and has nowhere to hide anything dangerous.  Now come.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can I pull on a pair of pants or something?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You are wearing underwear underneath your gown.  That is sufficient.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ludwig’s face heated up.  “I didn’t even know I had on…  </span>
  <em>
    <span>How did you know that?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Hammer Bro didn’t even flinch as it responded, “The Clarity Suite also deems fit underwear for you to wear.  We apologize if that was not made clear enough.”  He extended a hand again.  “Now, will you join us?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ludwig figured that there was no point in dwelling on that small point of contention.  He crossed his arms and tapped his foot.  “...Name.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh?”  That was as casual and non-robotic as his speech had gotten to that point.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I need a name first.  You know mine, so it would only be fair if you told me yours.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you promise to follow us if we tell you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, yes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mmm…  You may call us Clarity.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course.  Why wouldn’t your name be Clarity?”  He groaned.  He shouldn’t have promised to follow him, but he dared not to break his oath.  A Koopa was only as good as his word, in his opinion.  Besides, he wasn’t that villainous.  “Fine.  I will follow you, but only because I said I would.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Walk with us, Ludwig von Koopa.  The others will surely be happy to see you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The others?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course.  You didn’t think that you were alone, did you?”  Again, the Hammer Bro had switched to a casual tone, but Ludwig paid it no mind.  Or rather, he chose to ignore it.  Because damn it all if he was going to walk into whatever experience this was anymore freaked out than he already was.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>*****</b>
</p><p>
  <span>Mallum couldn’t say who was more fidgety between himself and Iggy.  The two of them sat in the common room, ignoring the TV completely.  They instead opted for nervously watching the different pairs of doors that led into the room they resided in, knowing that the Overseer would soon be arriving.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Magikoopa had every right to be anxious about the Overseer’s arrival.  That Hammer Bro just put him on edge.  He wasn’t like other Hammer Bros., which was quite obvious from just the way he spoke, but even more so, no one else had a teal helmet, shell, and pair of boots,  On top of unique fashion choices and soulless speech, he also had this unwavering thousand-yard stare.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What were you thinking when you designed him?” he whispered harshly to Iggy, who barely paid him any mind.  “He’s terrifying.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I forgot to code the life into him,” he responded absentmindedly.  “He’s good at what he does, though.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How do you create an AI to play therapist to people while failing to </span>
  <em>
    <span>make him comfortable to interact with</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iggy exhaled through his nose, as if annoyed with Mallum.  “I was running on a tight schedule, okay?  Besides, it’s not like I forgot something important to the stability of this program.  But if you’re going to complain so much, you can stop putting on the mask every night until I roll out the next major update.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mallum sighed.  “Fine.  Why do you look so nervous anyways?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because Ludwig’s coming.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>What?!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shush.  You already knew that he was coming at some point.  That was the only reason you beta-tested the program, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mallum sputtered.  “W-well, yeah, b-but…”  He turned away from Iggy as his face heated up from his embarrassment at being called out.  Ludwig was his...yeah, his best friend.  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Only</span>
  </em>
  <span> his best friend, and nothing more.  But he found himself wanting something more.  He found himself doing more and more for him, whether it be growing out his hair or giving him dorky gifts or joining the Koopaling on his fitness journey.  He obviously loved him, so when Iggy told him about a program he was developing that could help Ludwig, he was all for it.  “I thought you were lying about that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I wasn’t.  I was just taking my time getting him into this.  Remember how I said something about stability just now?”  Mallum nodded.  “I’m a little concerned that he may ruin that stability.  I’ve done as much as I can to prepare for the eventuality that he does end up making the program go haywire, giving it as much padding as I can, but there’s no guarantee that this will remain a safe sanctuary.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The program seems pretty stable to me,” chimed in the third resident.  Larry looked up and back at the two of them—they were sitting on a couch while he was sitting in front of it.  He grinned.  “I think everything will turn out fine.  Ludwig’s not going to break anything.”  His expression morphed into one of confusion.  “Wait, do you guys hear someone screaming?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mallum concentrated.  Sure enough, he could faintly pick up someone from somewhere yelling, “aaaaaAAAAA</span>
  <em>
    <span>AAAAA</span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>AAAAAA</em>
  </b>
  <span>—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ludwig burst through the ceiling, hitting the floor feet first, resulting in his ankles shattering.  He promptly toppled over, groaning in pain.  Next to him, the Overseer floated down to the ground and looked at him with that apathetic stare he wore oh-so-well.  “Ludwig von Koopa, can you hear us?”</span>
</p><p>
  <b>*****</b>
</p><p>
  <span>Ludwig already had enough of whatever zany experience this was.  He just wanted to go home already.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At the Hammer Bro’s insistence, he had followed him through an airport terminal, found himself atop an extremely tall chair with no actual part to sit on, just its frame, and when he eventually fell from it he found himself going down an ice slide at speeds so high he nearly slipped out at every turn.  Having Clarity behind him, going through the same ordeal while soullessly yelling out, “Whoo,” did not help matters.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then he was promptly launched from the slide, high up into the air(he felt more concerned about dying without looking indecent than the fact he was going to die in the first place, and thus held his gown down) and after a few moments he started his quick descent towards the unknown below him.  He crashed through a ceiling, feet first, and then landed hard on the ground, </span>
  <em>
    <span>feet first</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and then toppled over as pain exploded within his ankles.  Pain so bad that he felt himself starting to black out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Strangely enough, Debussy’s Arabesque #1 rang in his ears, persuading him to let the darkness take over his vision.  He was ready to let it do what it wanted, but that damn Hammer Bro just couldn’t leave him alone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ludwig von Koopa, can you hear us?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He instinctively groaned.  “Lemme die,” he muttered.  The pain in his ankles turned into a dull throb, and the music playing his ears stuttered as if it was a buffering video.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“As long as you are under the jurisdiction of the Clarity Suite, we cannot let you perish.  Stand up, please.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stand up…?”  That made perfect sense.  Tell the person with the broken ankles to stand.  10/10 logic.  “My ankles are broken.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They are not.  This is a dream.  You are dreaming.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And how does telling me that help?”  The darkness, the pain, the music slowly faded away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you are aware that you are dreaming, then you may be able to gain some semblance of control over what happens.  This is why we told you this when we first met.  Unfortunately, you apparently did not grasp the concept enough to prevent this current scenario.  It is alright, though.  We will be more informative from this point on to lessen the chance of similar situations following a similar route.  Everyone makes mistakes.  From these mistakes we can learn.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ludwig sighed.  “Help me up, please.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As Clarity helped him up, he heard someone else say, “Well, Larry.  You were wrong.  He broke the ceiling.  And that means he’s bound to break something else.”  Ludwig looked at Iggy, who was combing his claws through his tall green hair, muttering profanities to himself.  Larry was somewhere in the room, probably in front of the couch.  And on that couch sat a Magikoopa...a Magikoopa with hair.  How peculiar.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We apologize for the ceiling,” the Hammer Bro said.  “We had to accompany him here through his own dream.  Please do not be distressed, Iggy Koopa.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, what the dude said!” Larry said, confirming Ludwig’s hypothesis by popping his face out from in front of the couch.  “You worry too much!  It’s just one hole, and that can be repaired easily!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t understand, Larry!” barked the tall Koopaling, hugging himself and shuddering.  His face seemed pale and his hair wilted.  “That one hole could cause a whole domino effect!  This program could end up melting because of it!  I knew I shouldn’t have done this, but </span>
  <em>
    <span>ha-ha!</span>
  </em>
  <span>, I was too cocky and said, ‘Oh, it’ll be fine!’  Well, guess what?!  </span>
  <em>
    <span>It’s not fine!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Magikoopa sighed.  “What a way to welcome you, Ludwig.  I wanted to celebrate with friendship bracelets, but we aren’t allowed string because ‘yOu CoUlD dIe AnD iF yOu DiE hErE yOu CoUlD dIe In ThE rEaL wOrLd!’  Fantastic.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ludwig offered him a sympathetic smile.  “I appreciate the sentiment, Mallum.  It’s good to see you, though I wish you weren’t here in this hellscape alongside me.  But it’s alright.  This is all a dream, you aren’t truly here, and I will wake up merely miffed from this experience.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I assure you, it’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>veeeery</span>
  </em>
  <span> real, Ludwig von Koopa.”  The way Clarity had tacked on his name at the end of his unusually relaxed sentence sounded like an afterthought.  As if he’d forgotten his name already.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mallum gave the Hammer Bro a look of distrust.  “Iggy, is the Overseer supposed to do that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, he’s not!  I knew it!  The world is breaking!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, only your mind,” Larry nonchalantly responded.  “If you aren’t too busy with having a mental breakdown over a program you overworked yourself developing, come sit with me and enjoy the movie.  It’s bland enough to relax your mind, but interesting enough to earn your attention.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iggy looked like that was the last thing he wanted to do.  Nonetheless, he let out a weak chuckle and dragged himself over to the couch.  “Yes.  That is what I’ll do,” he said as he sat down.  “I’ll just sit, and…”  He laid down.  Within seconds, he had started to softly sob.  “</span>
  <em>
    <span>We’re all fucking doomed.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With that happy thought, Mallum and Ludwig made small talk.  “‘Overseer’?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That is what we call him, yes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He has a name, you know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes.  We do have a name.”  The Hammer Bro walked back over to the two of them in odd, herky-jerky motions.  They stepped back and away from each other, and Clarity walked straight up to Ludwig and clamped a hand on his shoulder.  “And you know it, don’t you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Iggy, the Overseer’s acting up again,” Mallum said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t even respond to that question, instead choosing to repeat, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>We’re all fucking doomed,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” as if it were a mantra.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Larry, to his credit, stopped paying attention to the movie and listened to the conversation, shaking his brother in a feeble attempt to wake him up from his hopelessness spell.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know our name because we...we were friends at some point.  But then you left us for </span>
  <em>
    <span>him</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” Clarity declared, pointing at the Magikoopa.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Me?  What did I—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You stole him from us.  But now we, no, </span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> get to steal him back.”  Clarity’s voice had shifted from its usual monotonous tone to a much livelier, more vicious tone, one that sounded familiar to Ludwig.  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Too</span>
  </em>
  <span> familiar.  He let loose a laugh that confirmed his identity before roughly grabbing the Koopaling’s face.  “Hi, Ludwig!  Remember me?  We’re going to have </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> much fun!  WHAUGHUHUHU HUH HUH WHAUUUUGHUH!”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Shattered</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry for the sudden absence of updates.  Writer's block is a bitch.  But I'm back now, so all is well.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Clarity had gone berserk, making Ludwig and Mallum his primary targets, and Iggy, the one person who might be able to do something, was busy sulking and proclaiming their certain doom.  That left Larry with one of three options: A) go confront Clarity, who was currently waving around a syringe full of mystery liquid, B) make himself a more important target and possibly find out what said mystery liquid was, or C) try to convince the group’s only hope to put a stop to this madness.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Larry always hated needles.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“C’mon, Iggy!” he yelled under his breath as he shook his older brother’s arm again.  He stopped for a moment, looking up to assess the situation.  It wasn’t looking good.  Ludwig and Mallum were doing their best to dodge the syringe that Clarity swung around.  His swings were wild and large, yet he somehow kept missing the two of them despite the fact that they were tripping over each other trying to avoid the assault.  Larry realized that he was toying with them, and if he grew bored of them he feared that they were all screwed.  He returned his attention to Iggy, pulling him by the hands into a sitting position on the couch.  “I </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> need your help right about now!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t do anything about this, Larry,” he responded as he attempted to slump back over onto the cushions, not bothering to fight against his despondency.  He’d finally calmed down and his hysterics had ceased, but he didn’t seem any less depressed.  “The security measures I built into this program can’t be manually activated.  If the program doesn’t recognize whoever Clarity’s become as a virus…”  He didn’t finish his sentence, but Larry got the idea.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then...we can’t do anything about this?” he asked, letting go of his brother.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iggy thought for a moment, sitting up.  “Well, we could always try running away.  I doubt it would work, since corrupted Clarity can appear anywhere in the suite, but we can certainly try.  Hey, do you have the TV remote?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Larry reached under the couch and retrieved the device with a wink.  “Clarity’s not going to be mad that I broke one of the rules, right?”  Guests were not supposed to hide the TV remote, let alone touch it in general, as he learned upon his arrival at the suite.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think he’ll make an exception for you.  Now, chuck the remote as hard as you can at Clarity’s head.  He may have a helmet, but it’ll still do some damage.”  The athletic Koopaling nodded and did as he was told, not exactly knowing what his older brother’s plan was but trusting that he had one.  The moment the remote connected with the side of the Hammer Bro’s helmet, he dropped to the ground with a grunt of pain.  Iggy cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Scatter!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”  The four guests all scrambled through the different sets of double doors in the room, splitting up from each other to find rooms to hide in.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Trust well spent.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <b>*****</b>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Wakey wakey, Ludwig,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” an unfamiliar voice whispered in a singsong tone.  The person behind it giggled.  Something poked his face.  “</span>
  <em>
    <span>I want to talk to you before I have to go.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ludwig yawned as he groggily blinked his eyes open.  He found it difficult to keep them open—his eyelids felt heavy like sandbags.  He ended up settling for keeping them half-lidded.  Big colorful blobs swam in his vision.  He squinted at them.  The face of a Koopa with a sharp bucktooth and wild blue hair came into focus.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Koopa smiled.  “Hi.  Remember me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Had they met before?  Ludwig can’t say that they have.  He’d know the stranger’s name otherwise.  He’d remember him otherwise.  In fact, he barely remembered his own name. “No.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Koopa’s smile turned vicious.  “Perfect.  The procedure was a success!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“‘Procedure’?”  His voice sounded strange, like he was talking through a modulator.  He sounded funny to himself, but he didn’t have it in him to laugh.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Koopa smiled and ruffled his hair before holding his hands out, palms up.  Splinters of stained glass appeared above them, floating up and down and glowing.  Ludwig stared at them with a blank gaze.  They were pretty.  “See these?” the Koopa asked, nodding his head towards the fragments.  He nodded in response.  “These are your shards.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My...shards?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, your shards.  I’ve shattered you—quite literally, might I add.  These shards contain your memories and personality traits.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ludwig stared at them.  He could see faint images dancing around in their reflections, so he assumed that the Koopa wasn’t lying.  “Can I have them back?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Koopa let loose an incredulous guffaw, as if he couldn’t believe that he was being asked such a question.  “Stars, </span>
  <em>
    <span>no!</span>
  </em>
  <span>  My whole plan would be for naught!”  He gave him a cheeky smile.  “While I do miss the you I’ve come to know and love, the new you can be molded oh-so-well to my liking.  Plus, you won’t try to leave me for </span>
  <em>
    <span>him.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t you worry your little head about that.  Now...I love you, Ludwig.  Can you say ‘I love you too, Kooky’?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I love you too, Kooky,” parroted Ludwig in spite of his lack of feelings towards ‘Kooky’.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The shards hovering above the Koopa’s palms disappeared.  He laughed and patted the Koopaling’s head, running his hands through his hair.  “That’s what I like to hear.  Now go back to sleep, okay?  I’m going to work on hiding these shards.  Night night, Ludwig.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Night night, Kooky.”  With that, Kooky trotted out of the room, leaving him by himself.  He yawned again and closed his eyes, immediately falling back asleep.  When he woke up again, feeling refreshed yet still exhausted, Ludwig found himself surrounded by four strangers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’ll be okay, right?” the Koopa with the green hair [Sprout] asked, rapidly tapping the side of his head with his index finger.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mmm…” trailed off the Hammer Bro with the helmet [Helm] as he stared off into space.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your silence isn’t reassuring in the slightest,” the Magikoopa with the blue hat [Mage] said with a grimace.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“C’mon!  Stay positive!  It’s all we can do right now!” exclaimed the Koopa with the sky blue hair [Pomp], patting him on the shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks for reminding me of my uselessness in this situation.  I appreciate it.”  Mage did not seem to appreciate it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ludwig shifted around in his lounge chair, drawing the strangers’ attention to him.  Without much emotion, he asked them, “Who are you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Three out of four of the strangers looked surprised by his question.  Helm merely clicked his tongue and brought a hand up to his chin as he studied the Koopaling with an unyielding gaze.  “This is not good,” he deduced.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, Dr. Overseer, for that </span>
  <em>
    <span>brilliantly</span>
  </em>
  <span> crystal clear insight,” Mage remarked.  “Next you’ll tell us that he has amnesia!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We would hazard a guess and say that you are correct in your statement.  Not only does he have some type of amnesia, but it seems as if his emotional expression has been impaired.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Magikoopa’s shoulders slumped at that statement.  “I was kidding.  Please tell me you’re joking, too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sprout shook his head.  “If he doesn’t have the capacity to not act so stiff, he doesn’t have the capacity to joke.  It’ll be awhile before he learns how to.  He may be a strong AI, but his communication skills are lacking.  I haven’t done much more than give him one or two building blocks, but—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can we focus on the main problem here, please?” cut in Pomp.  “Something’s wrong with Ludwig.  It’s like he’s lost a few screws.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not screws.  Shards.  Kooky stole my shards from me and he refuses to give them back,” Ludwig responded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>All eyes were on him after that statement.  “Run that by me again?” Sprout asked, spinning his index fingers in circles and pointing in random directions while he talked.  “‘Kooky’?  As in, ‘your imaginary friend’ Kooky?  As in, ‘tried to prove that he was real by constantly getting into trouble, the severity of his actions gradually rising to the point that a few Koopas nearly died and you nearly ended up in a psych ward because of your imaginary friend’ Kooky?  </span>
  <em>
    <span>That</span>
  </em>
  <span> Kooky?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ludwig merely shrugged; Sprout, for all he knew, was spouting incoherent nonsense about memories that didn’t exist in his mind.  Then again, his memories as far as he knew were with Kooky for the time being.  It was entirely possible that Sprout’s nonsense actually made sense.  “Sure.  He said that he shattered me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh, we’re so fucked.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your pessimism is annoying, to say the least,” Mage stated, crossing his arms and glaring at the tall Koopa.  “Are you going to ignore the fact that he said that he’s been ‘shattered’, whatever that means?  It doesn’t sound like something we can just ignore.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, do </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> know what that means?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...No, but still, we shouldn’t just gloss over that because he mentioned this ‘Kooky’ fellow.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, you don’t know the half of it.  Not only have we been saddled with fixing a problem we know naught about, but we also have to deal with an obsessive freak who tried offing me several times!  I should have taken more time on the program, I shouldn’t have gotten so damn ambitious in such a short time period!”  Sprout took off his glasses and closed his eyes, pinching his snout as he tried not to devolve into a crying fit.  “And it’s my responsibility to fix this mess, but this mess is already proving itself unfixable!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Helm held out a box of tissues for him to pull from.  “Deep breaths, Iggy Koopa.  This is merely a setback that you will surely overcome, and we are here to help you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, what the dude said!” Pomp exclaimed, pulling Sprout into a supportive hug.  “We gotchu, fam!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks, guys.  I don’t really deserve this kindness, but—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Guys, I don’t mean to break up such a tender moment, but can we return to the topic at hand?” Mage stated, jabbing a thumb in Ludwig’s direction.  He remained unaffected by Iggy’s glare.  “He said something about Kooky shattering him and taking his shards.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes.”  Helm looked at Ludwig.  “Do you have any further comments on that topic?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ludwig looked up at the ceiling as he thought before saying, “He said that he was going to hide my shards.  I don’t know where, though.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That is alright.  We now know what our first order of business is.  Let us depart in search of these shards.  Helping Ludwig von Koopa return to his prior self is our top priority.  He is most likely the only person who can stop Kooky.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know where you got that from,” Mage said as he outstretched a hand for Ludwig to take.  He did, pulling himself out of the chair and standing up somewhat unsteadily.  Luckily, the Magikoopa was willing to support his weight, carefully slinking the blue-haired Koopa’s arm around his shoulders and putting his own arm under the other’s.  “I would be more than happy to brain that son of a bitch with a thick encyclopedia.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Violence is not an answer here,” Helm said, shaking his head.  “We must talk it out with Kooky, and it seems like he will only listen to Ludwig von Koopa.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mage groaned, but nodded.  “Fair enough.  But where do we start?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How about you all fill me in on who you all are and how I got here and what exactly is happening and has happened first,” Ludwig responded.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. The Beginning Of The Hunt</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“...From what I gathered, Kooky caught up to and knocked out each of us when we scattered.  We all woke up, went looking for you, stumbled across the Ov—Clarity locked away in a broom closet, resumed looking for you, yadda yadda.  Got it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ludwig nodded.  “I think so, Mage.  I mean, Mallum.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mallum sighed in relief.  Getting Ludwig back up to speed had thankfully proved easier than he thought it was going to be.  He sometimes got their names wrong or mixed them up, and he couldn’t remember much about himself nor express his emotions, but for the most part, he was as fine as a shattered person could be.  It felt strange to the Magikoopa, knowing more about him than he did himself, but that was neither here nor there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Locating a few of the shards proved to be just as easy, if not even easier.  While they had been looking for Ludwig, the group had taken note of five shards scattered around the suite in obvious locations.  There was a blue one in the courtyard, a silver one in the common room, a rainbow one in the concert hall(why this place had a concert hall in the first place, Mallum wasn’t sure of), a crimson one in the entry hallway, and a gold one in one of the bedrooms the place had to offer(again, Mallum wasn’t entirely sure of its purpose or reason for being there).</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So we’ve found a lot of shards!” Larry said with a triumphant smile on his face.  “Now how do we get them?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mallum rolled his eyes.  “Thank you for the wasted enthusiasm.”  But Larry had a point.  Locating the five shards had been the easy part.  It was actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>collecting</span>
  </em>
  <span> them that was giving the group some trouble.  Each shard was locked behind some sort of obstacle, and none of them were some rinky-dink, run-of-the-mill safe that Larry could easily crack.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The blue one in the courtyard?  In the middle of a gigantic hedge maze patrolled by Chain Chomps.  The silver one in the common room?  Behind the static-filled screen of the TV, as if it were on a channel or something.  The rainbow one in the concert hall?  Mallum would sooner take his chances with the Chomps outside than the grand piano that held the shard within it.  The crimson one in the entry hallway?  Mallum would sooner take his chances with the grand piano than Kooky himself, who was actively patrolling the entire suite(as they’d learned from a close encounter) but heavily prioritized the area with the shard.  The gold one in the bedroom?  Trapped within a diary that someone had to vent their deepest, darkest secrets and frustrations in, which they then had to read out to the rest of the group and defend.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>All in all, cruel obstacles.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mmm…”  Clarity, who Mallum had begrudgingly started calling by his actual name, seemed to be trying to think up a solution to remedy their problem.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was taking forever, though, so Mallum pitched his own idea.  “We get the blue one first.  Then we get the silver one.  Then the rainbow one.  Then the gold one.  Then the crimson one.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Clarity nodded his head.  “That is precisely what we were going to suggest.  If we confront Kooky when Ludwig von Koopa is at his strongest, then the confrontation is more likely to tilt in our favor.”  Mallum doubted that more than he doubted the statement </span>
  <em>
    <span>robots cannot lie</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and he heavily doubted that already.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iggy sighed.  He seemed uncomfortable about the idea of facing off against the Chain Chomps first, or at all.  Maybe he was thinking of his own pet Chain Chomp.  “What about you, Larry?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shrugging, Larry responded, “As long as we don’t have to deal with the needle-waving madman, I’m down for whatever.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ludwig?”  Ludwig just stared at him, his gaze rivaling Clarity’s own one-thousand yard stare.  Iggy nodded glumly.  “Right.  Let’s get going, then.”  He started walking before anyone else could say anything.  The rest of the group followed him, and they all stealthily made their way towards one of the exits leading to the courtyard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But a loud banging noise stopped all of them in their tracks.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>*****</b>
</p><p>
  <span>Stomping around the corridors of the invaded suite, Kooky couldn’t help but laugh aloud, partially from anger, partially from ecstasy.  He’d long since abandoned his Hammer Bro disguise and returned to his usual small self; it was pointless now that the group had found the real Clarity, whom he’d knocked out, tied up, and locked in a broom closet when he’d gone to bring Ludwig to the suite.  So to make up for his tiny size, he’d morphed his needle into the wand that he and Ludwig [had] shared.  He found the strange properties of the dream he was exploring interesting and he wondered what other other-worldly things it allowed, but now was not the time for experimenting.  Ludwig had been stolen from him.  </span>
  <em>
    <span>He wanted him back.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Ludwig!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” he called out in a singsong tone.  “</span>
  <em>
    <span>I know you and your buddies are here somewhere!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”  He banged his wand in his hands against the nearby wall twice.  “And I’m still angry over the fact that they </span>
  <em>
    <span>stole</span>
  </em>
  <span> you from me!  But if you come out now, I won’t hurt them, I promise!” he said in a sickly-sweet tone.  But Ludwig didn’t reveal himself, so Kooky tried a different approach: anger, immediately switching his tone.  “You’d better come out now!” he yelled.  “Because if I find you, </span>
  <em>
    <span>you won’t like what happens next!</span>
  </em>
  <span>  I will </span>
  <em>
    <span>torture</span>
  </em>
  <span> your friends when I find them, and I’ll </span>
  <em>
    <span>break</span>
  </em>
  <span> your mind when I find you!  I’ll make sure you </span>
  <em>
    <span>never ever leave me again, and—COME OUT ALREADY, LUDWIG, DAMMIT!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”  He started banging his wand against the wall again and again as he continued to shriek, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>COME OUT ALREADY!  YOU’RE HURTING YOURSELF MORE THAN YOU’RE HURTING ME BY DOING THIS, AND I’M HURTING BADLY!  AND WHEN I FIND YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS, I’LL MAKE YOU FEEL MY PAIN!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He finally stopped his tantrum, shaking in anger and gripping his wand tightly.  His teeth grinded against each other, his eyelids twitched and his eyes welled up with tears.  After listening to his surroundings for a few moments and hearing nothing but silence, he banged his wand against the wall in anger.  “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Fine, then!  Be like that!  Don’t cry when I finally find you, though!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”  With that, Kooky stomped away, heading for the stairwell that led to the first floor so that he could check up on the crimson shard, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hostility</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  As he passed one of the windows that overlooked the courtyard, he caught something moving from the corner of his eye and snapped his head in the window’s direction, looking out of it.  It wasn’t Ludwig or one of his stupid little friends, unfortunately, just one of the Chain Chomps he’d placed in the maze.  Kooky growled and walked away from the window, unknowingly heading in the direction opposite of where his targets were.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>*****</b>
</p><p>
  <span>Upon safely reaching one of the doors leading to the courtyard, Mallum, Iggy, and Larry all let out sighs of relief.  The Magikoopa leaned on Ludwig for support, for his legs were shaking so much that he was having trouble keeping his balance.  “That was too close for my liking,” he murmured.  “Be still, my heart.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We aren’t out of the woods yet,” Iggy said, panting heavily, his body hunched over with his hands on his knees.  “We still have to get the shard.  The moment we step out there, we become targets for the Chain Chomps.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, we have a plan, right?“  Larry asked, leaning against Clarity for support, who was more than happy to keep him up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Indeed,” Iggy responded, straightening up.  “You, Mallum, and I are all going to play distraction.  Our job is to draw the Chomps in the maze away from our runners, who will be Ludwig and Clarity, who thankfully memorized the entire maze after seeing it from a window on the third floor.  They stop at nothing to reach the shard, and we stop at nothing to distract the Chain Chomps from them.  Distractions, let’s go.  We’re up first.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We believe in you all,” Clarity said to them, watching as they exited out the double doors and entered the maze, the doors closing behind them.  For the sixty seconds that he silently waited out alongside Ludwig, the two could hear the Chain Chomps repeatedly run past the entrance, their barks fading out as they got further and further away only to swell in volume as they neared the doors.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ludwig stretched himself tall, yawning.  “They’re too close,” he said afterwards.  “The Chain Chomps are coming too close to the entrance too often.  I think they know we’re here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>They’re not the only ones,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” a new voice said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Clarity didn’t need to think twice.  He jumped in between Ludwig and Kooky, quick enough on the uptake to prevent Ludwig from getting brained by the invader’s wand which painfully bounced off of his helmet.  Clarity gritted his teeth and ignored his pain, saying, “Ludwig von Koopa, go retrieve the shard.  We have been compromised.”  The blue-haired Koopaling nodded and headed through the doors.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That left the Hammer Bro alone with a very irate Kooky who had a blunt weapon in his hands.  He swung his wand around at Clarity’s head, but he leaned out of its way.  Eventually, the Koopa stopped his assault and pointed his weapon between Clarity’s eyes, shouting, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Agh, get out of the way, dammit!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We are afraid we cannot comply with your request,” he responded.  “We kindly ask you to vacate the premises.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>What?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”  Kooky laughed angrily, his disbelief present on his face.  “</span>
  <em>
    <span>You think you can kick me out just like that?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It is for your own good,” Clarity responded.  “When Ludwig von Koopa collects all the shards, you will be in danger.  He will remember who you are and what you have done to him and everyone else, and when he does he and the others will want an unsavory fate to befall you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>So they’ll want me dead?!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Even if you are not a guest here, we still worry for your safety.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Shut up!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”  Despite his apparent rage, Kooky seemed nervous as he glanced off to the side and started to think aloud.  “So when he finds all the shards, he’ll want me dead, huh?  I don’t believe that for a second...but what if it </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> true?  I can’t take any chances.  This is my one chance to get him back, and I can’t fail.  What to do, what to do…  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Wait a minute.  How did I not do this before?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”  He looked back over at Clarity, an unnervingly evil grin seeping onto his face.  “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh-ho-ho, this is going to be fun!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why are you saying—”  The wand came flying at the side of his face so fast, he didn’t have time to dodge it.  It clocked him square in the jaw, knocking him to the ground with a yelp of pain.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He held his jaw with a hand and looked up at Kooky, who was still smiling that same malicious smile.  His rictus split as he proclaimed, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Night night, Clarity!  Don’t let the bed bugs </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>bite</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span>!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”  On the word ‘bite’, he swung his wand down at the top of Clarity’s head, and though it ended up hitting his helmet the force of the blow was enough to knock him out.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>*****</b>
</p><p>
  <span>After a Chain Chomp passed him by for the third time, failing to take notice of him, Ludwig continued down the path that he’d chosen.  He didn’t have a guide or any sort of map to lead him to the shard, but something within him that he couldn’t identify was telling him that he was close.  It was as if he was </span>
  <em>
    <span>feeling</span>
  </em>
  <span> that he was close, and given that he’d apparently lost the ability to feel he figured that it was a good metric to go by.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Upon reaching a T-way intersection, Ludwig cautiously poked his head out and looked to his right.  Spotting nothing of note, he looked to his left and...there it was.  The shard glowed a radiant blue as it hovered above the stone pedestal in the middle of the gazebo it was in.  He waited a moment, listening for any sounds of nearby movement.  After determining that it was safe, he made a mad dash to the gazebo, clutching his stomach with an arm in a feeble attempt to quell the cramp rising up within it.  His other arm outstretched, its hand reaching for the shard, he dove forwards and ended up in the gazebo, the shard in his grasp—!</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I'm honestly ashamed that it took me so long to get this chapter done.  I'm so sorry for the wait.  But wait no longer.  Now the story'll start picking up...  Mwehehehe!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Loyal To A Fault</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I TOLD Y'ALL THIS WASN'T DEAD</p><p>Sorry, this week was also a little stressful for me as it was the final week of the quarter.<br/>Anyways, enjoy.</p><p>(This chapter will probably be updated soon for the shard-collection bit, but I want you all to enjoy what I've finished so far because you're special and I appreciate you for reading and staying loyal(see what I did there?)).</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>“I’m okay, Ludwig.  Really.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Ludwig didn’t believe that for one second.  Even if he had, he wouldn’t have let this transgression against his friend.  What kind of monstrous, brutish imbeciles mocked one of their peers for something that was out of their control?  He turned around to face the crowd that had surrounded the two before pointing at Mallum, who had fallen victim to the “‘holy’ water in a bucket” prank, and yelled, “</span>
  </em>
  <span>Who the hell is responsible for this?</span>
  <em>
    <span>”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Ludwig—”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“</span>
  </em>
  <span>I demand the person responsible to </span>
  <span>grow a pair and step the fuck up</span>
  <span>.</span>
  <em>
    <span>”  Everyone was dead silent save for Mallum, who was meekly muttering that everything was fine and tugging on his sleeve in an attempt to get him to calm down.  He did not calm down.  In fact, his rage kept growing.  But in an eerily quiet voice and with an unsettling smile on his face, Ludwig said, “So no one will come forwards?  Fine, then.  Remember that end of the year trip I promised the whole school?  </span>
  </em>
  <span>That is now off-limits for everyone.</span>
  <em>
    <span>”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Following this statement was the uproar that he expected to hear from the student body.  Declarations about how unfair this was and how he couldn’t do this to them and how they were going to impeach him, and more </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>bullshit</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span>.  He cut all the verbal riot off with his own roar.  “</span>
  </em>
  <span>Shut up!  All of you, </span>
  <b>shut up!</b>
  <span>  Don’t you dare complain about how ‘unfair’ this is when he,</span>
  <em>
    <span>” proclaimed the blue-haired Koopaling as he indicated Mallum with a finger, “</span>
  </em>
  <span>and countless others have been taunted and bullied for so long!  </span>
  <b>None of you</b>
  <span> are worthy of the end-of-the-year trip.  You don’t deserve a reward for sitting on your asses and allowing your peers to be mocked like they have!</span>
  <em>
    <span>”  He could spot a few guilty faces, but the lack of accountability present on the majority’s faces merely solidified his actions.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Mallum tugged on his shirt sleeve again and quietly muttered, “Ludwig, please.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>This time, Ludwig listened, having said his piece.  He took a few deep breaths, combing his hands through his hair.  “Alright.  I will update you all on what you can do to earn your trip back for everyone next Monday.  If you can find out who is responsible for this, I’ll see past your transgressions and allow everyone to go back on the trip.”  He thought for a moment.  The culprits were getting off too easy.  “...sans the culprits, who will spend the day cleaning the school.  Have a nice weekend, everybody.”  That was better.  He grabbed Mallum’s hand and started storming off, but not before saying, “Oh, and if anymore </span>
  </em>
  <span>incidents</span>
  <em>
    <span> like this one occur, the trip will be cancelled.”  He resumed his pace, heading for the nearest bathroom so that Mallum could change out of his sopping wet robe.  “Now let’s see what we can do for you.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>|––––|</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You know you didn’t need to do that,” Mallum’s voice echoed from the stall throughout the bathroom.  He had fortunately brought a spare change of underwear and a pair of shorts, which they had grabbed from his [thankfully untouched] gym locker, but he didn’t have any other robes or shirts on him, so Ludwig was lending him a spare dress shirt.  It was going to be an interesting clothing combination, that was for sure, but better odd clothes than no clothes.  “I appreciate it, but you really shouldn’t have.  You’re student council president, you have an image to uphold.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I know, I know.  I just got caught up in the moment.”  He splashed some cool water onto his face to calm himself down.  “It isn’t fair, you know.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“That I do.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You did nothing to deserve this.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Mallum sadly chuckled.  “If only that were true.  Remember what was said between us when we first met each other?  I swore to hex you.”  The stall door unlocked and Mallum stepped out, a rueful smile upon his face.  “First impressions, no matter how misrepresentative of someone’s character they may be, are the impressions that tend to stick with people.  Combine my threats with my eyes, my volatile attitude, and my unusual love for grim child’s stories and voilà, you have a recipe for a ‘demon’,” he said, voice cracking.  “And that’s not even counting the other miscellaneous ingredients…haha...ha…”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Before he really knew what he was doing, Ludwig stepped forwards and wrapped his arms around his friend.  Mallum didn’t even protest, choosing to rest his head on the Koopaling’s shoulder.  The two of them stood there for quite some time as the Magikoopa let his sorrow finally rear its ugly head, tears running down his face as he tried his best to stifle his sobs.  “You’re my angel, Mallum,” Ludwig said, a comforting smile upon his face despite knowing that the other couldn’t see it.  “You keep me sane, you keep me grounded, and you keep me happy.  And for that, I’ll return the favor.  I swear I’ll always stick by your side.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Mallum’s crying died down.  He lifted his head back and looked at Ludwig, a wavering smirk on his face.  Those beautiful bloodred eyes of his held that signature mischievousness he’d come to love.  “What a sweetheart…  So you were bluffing when you said that the end-of-the-year trip was cancelled, right?” he asked, his expression changing into one of worry.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Nope.  If the perpetrators are never found, then the school won’t go.  Either way, the two of us will certainly be enjoying Fableland.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Oh…”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He gave the Magikoopa his own smirk.  “And we will certainly be enjoying the slow burn of the culprits as the year goes on.  I’m pretty sure that I know who they are, but someone needs these students to hold themselves accountable for their actions, right?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Oh, you devil.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <b>~~~~~</b>
</p><p>
  <span>The memory stopped there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Despite the fact that there wasn’t a real ending, Ludwig still found himself smiling fondly as he replayed the memory in his head.  There were others that he’d recovered, but the one he’d watched stuck out to him.  It filled him with a foreign but clear feeling, one that made him want to protect and support those closest to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wait a minute...</span>
  <em>
    <span>fee</span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>l</em>
  </b>
  <span>?  Had he just </span>
  <em>
    <span>felt</span>
  </em>
  <span> s</span>
  <b>o</b>
  <span>mething…?  A smile found its wa</span>
  <b>y</b>
  <span> onto his face as he realized th</span>
  <b>a</b>
  <span>t he had.  He could feel.  He cou</span>
  <b>l</b>
  <span>d remember.  He felt proud of himself, </span>
  <b>t</b>
  <span>o the point where he started to softl</span>
  <b>y</b>
  <span> cry from joy.  Hugging himself, he spun around in the gazebo on his unsteady legs, finding the way his gown took on the wind amusing.  Eventually, he stumbled out of the gazebo and flopped onto the ground, landing on his back.  His laughter died down but his euphoria was still running high.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With half-lidded eyes, he studied the open night sky above him.  It was a deep indigo, riddled with stars and planets and the full moon, which was a complementary yellow.  The setting was somehow realistic while also looking like it came straight from a children’s book.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A shooting star streaked through the night, its color the same as Mallum’s eyes.  Ludwig’s smile could only grow.  This was a pleasant present.  “I didn’t even realize that there was a sky,” he said.  The stars twinkled.  And twinkled again.  His joy slowly turned into confusion as he realized that something wasn’t right here.  Only specific stars were twinkling.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And if he connected the stars that were, he got…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“‘Return’?”  His vision went dark and distorted the moment the word left his mouth.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>…</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>…</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>…</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>Return complete.  Welcome back to the Clarity Suite, Ludwig von Koopa.  You are guest #4.  Enjoy your stay.</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <b>*****</b>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’ll be okay, right?” Iggy said aloud as he rapidly tapped the side of his head with a finger.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He hadn’t stated his question to get an answer.  Nonetheless, Clarity felt the need to attempt a response.  “Mmm…” he trailed off, staring into space with his hands casually behind his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mallum grimaced.  “Your silence isn’t reassuring in the slightest,” he said, placing his knuckles against his hips.  Iggy was sure that he didn’t find Clarity in general reassuring, but he didn’t point that out.  There was already enough friction between him and the Magikoopa.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Larry, being Larry, did his best to quell Mallum’s worries with positivity.  He too was concerned, that was for certain, but he always chose to focus on making sure he could still smile at the end of the day.  Patting the Magikoopa’s shoulder in a comforting manner, Larry beamed and said, “C’mon!  Stay positive!  It’s all we can do right now!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mallum had undoubtedly interpreted everything the athletic Koopaling had done as condescending.  He scowled in his direction.  “Thanks for reminding me of my uselessness in this situation.  I appreciate it.”  Iggy picked up on his sarcasm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>From the corners of his gaze he caught Ludwig shifting around in his lounge chair, seemingly waking up.  He looked around at all of them and raised an eyebrow, then put it back down, looked around a little more, and then raised it again.  “How did I get here?” he asked the group.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iggy’s heart almost stopped from that statement alone, and judging from Mallum and Larry’s expressions he wasn’t the only person in shock.  Ludwig wasn’t okay.  Kooky had gotten to him, like he had everyone else.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Clarity, to his credit, was playing it comparatively cool.  Or at least, he </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  “Damn,” he muttered under his breath, bringing one hand to his chin and moving the other to his hip.  Everyone stared at him.  “What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Since when do you curse?” Larry asked.  “Did Kooky scramble your circuits or whatever when he bonked you on the head?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I’m perfectly fine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iggy nervously laughed and pressed his fingers together, staring at him.  “You, uh…you used a contraction and you referred to yourself in the 1st person.  You never do either of those things, and I didn’t give you the blocks to pick up these traits so quickly.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why is this an issue?  I’m just trying to be more relatable for you guys.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because it’s unusual to hear and see you like this, and it also came out of nowhere,” Mallum commented.  “Plus Kooky had moments where he talked like this when he was disguising himself as you, and we all know what happened when we trusted him…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I promise you that I’m not Kooky, alright?” he said with an amiable smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everyone seemed to not buy it, but Ludwig spoke up.  “I’ll take your word for it, Clarity.  No reason not to.  But if you lay a finger upon any of us with ill intent, I won’t hesitate to fight back and protect them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s fair,” responded the Hammer Bro, that same smile from before stretched across his beak.  Iggy might have been paranoid in his line of thinking, but it felt more sinister all of a sudden.  “But I don’t plan on hurting my guests any time soon.  I’m glad to see that you’re okay, Ludwig.  We all are.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh, yeah,” Mallum added, glancing in his direction and playing with his hair.  “I thought you would’ve forgotten about me…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ludwig smiled warmly at him.  “How could I forget about my best friend?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He weakly chuckled.  “Heh-heh, yeah…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Anyways, we need to go back to the common room.  There’s a shard there for us to find, in the TV.  It should be silver.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everyone but Ludwig traded looks of confusion and worry with each other.  “Uh, did Kooky scramble your circuits too?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kind of.  He called it ‘shattering’, and—</span>
  <em>
    <span>wait a minute, you guys don’t know what I’m talking about.</span>
  </em>
  <span>  Forgot about that part.”  He got up from the chair and stretched himself out with a yawn before saying, “I guess I should explain myself, then.”</span>
</p>
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